Saturday, March 7, 2015

Chris's Kindness Yields New Pedals

Compare the sizes: Wellgo greenies versus Tioga Surefoot sent by Chris.

Reader Chris, from Ohio, graciously sent me a pair of Tioga Surefoot pedals. No charge. Just because. He knew how much I loved an older pair of similar pedals, which I failed to repair. As Chris point's out in his note, included inside the box "the Ross will be happy".


Inspired by Chris's gift and upcoming spring-like weather next week, I dismantled my Ross's toe clips, placing each set of screws, washers and nuts in separate piles. As the photo suggests, I've cobbled together a mishmash of tiny parts, replacing as needed. In a perfect scenario, I'd use matching Allen bolts and lock nuts, but toe clips by nature are finicky, quirky accessories. For that matter, the Ross has an unmatched black, plastic toe clip set. But amazingly, despite various screw lengths and widths, each nut is the same size. Thankfully, one wrench loosened all four screw sets.

Thanks to Chris, I now have wider pedals again that will accept toe clips. Not that the greenies were unusable—indeed they sufficed for four years, even accommodating size 11 boots on a recent outing—but it's wonderful and welcome to step onto a more stable platform again. Thank you, Chris.

Up for grabs: All metal Wellgo green pedals. They are lightweight and accept toe clips.

And so, to honor Chris's philosophy of giving, I offer the green pedals to anyone who wants them.They spin well and have lots of life left. They'd be perfect on a fixie or childrens' bicycle. Just say the word and I'll pop them in the mail, posted from Vermont, no charge*.

*This could be the start of something good.

4 comments:

  1. What a wonderful story. Lovely when kind hearts share good things.

    I can well imagine how much better these wider pedals are. I commute wearing Brooks athletic shoes - designed for walking not running but they've got a really wide footprint. Ideal for feet that pronate - while walking but not so good for cycling, as the shoes overhang the outside of the pedal so much. Took me three tries last year to find pedals wide enough: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/PEOOPE/on-one-platform-pedals. I liked these so much, I bought a few more pairs in a sale and now have some fitted to both the Cross Check (black) and the London Town Bike (clear), with a pair on standby for the tandem. They look quite funky in an old skool kind of way, but they are so great to use.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those pedals come is interesting colors too. I like the glow-in-the-dark choice.

      I've seen similar versions in a Walmart store, but they advertised them as BMX pedals, which had a unique spindle width so I didn't try them. Price was attractive, though.

      Will you have an update soon on the new town bike?

      Delete
    2. I hesitate to call them BMX pedals because they don't have the pins/spikes. Funny about the unique spindle length, I haven't noticed any difference and usually I'm quite sensitive to any changes to Q factor - for example, the slightly longer BB on my Brompton really affects my knees!

      Town bike has done really well but has had a very easy life this winter. Will probably postpone full review/update until first year anniversary in the summer. Can then do full inspection on the paintwork. Only real issue (and even that's not been too bad) is that the brakes are really cheap cr*p. ;)

      Delete
  2. Nice job paying it forward.... or is it pedaling forward?

    ReplyDelete

Due to increased Spam, I am moderating comments. Thank you for your patience.